This story is from August 14, 2014

Citizens pack tents to beat holiday rush

Thousands from Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane and Kalyan-Dombivli have left for nearby vacation spots, clubbing Friday’s Independence Day and Monday’s dahi handi holidays with the weekly Saturday and Sunday offs.
Citizens pack tents to beat holiday rush
MUMBAI: On Thursday, Parikshit Gokral and his Malad neighbours boarded a private bus they booked in advance for Malshej Ghat. “I took leave on Thursday to have a prolonged weekend. We plan to stay in tents as we couldn’t get full hotel or resort bookings due to the rush,” said Gokral, an IT professional who works at BKC.
Like Gokral, thousands from Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane and Kalyan-Dombivli have left for nearby vacation spots, clubbing Friday’s Independence Day and Monday’s dahi handi holidays with the weekly Saturday and Sunday offs.

The rush is so strong that many failed to get bookings for their favourite destinations. Bus operators are overcharging and airlines have hiked fares. Ditto with tourist cabs, resorts and hotels. The impact of the weekend exodus was felt on roads as well. Operators at the Vashi, Airoli, Mulund, Bhandup and Dahisar toll posts reported being inundated with cars and SUVs since Thursday morning, a scenario set to continue on Friday and even Saturday.
MSRTC officials said that because of the glut of cars, their buses were stuck in traffic jams on the Mumbai-Pune expressway, causing delays. The Khalapur and Talegaon toll booths confirmed this.
At the MSRTC bus stand at Dadar, queues for buses to Pune are a lot longer. “It is unprecedented. Some of us have been waiting for hours as the buses are not on time. More people are joining the queues. The pressure on MSRTC staffers is tremendous,” said a passenger.
A Neeta Volvo official said buses for Goa and Mahabaleshwar were booked for the weekend. “We have a huge demand. Our seats sold very fast.”
Another operator said the normal rates for AC buses to Goa was Rs 1,200-1,700 (sleeper category), but they had risen to Rs 2,500-3,000. Buses for Bangalore, Nashik, Shirdi and Kolhapur, too, are running full. Looking at tourist demand, the railways has introduced a special weekend train for the Konkan and Goa.

Jagdish Patil, MD, Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation, said Malshej Ghat is the most in demand, followed by Bhandardara and Panshet. “Being monsoon destinations, tourists prefer them over beaches and hill stations. Even the waiting list is swollen.”
Airfares for August 15 morning travel rose overnight, with fares for spots like Goa and Jaipur climbing by over 100%.
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